Tuesday, January 10, 2012

January and February are the months when my running club heads indoors to a local track for workouts. I like running with a group and I hope I can attend a few workouts before we head back outdoors.

Tonight was my first night back with the group in a very long time and it was good to be back. Since we were indoors, I had to dig out my OLD watch instead of my garmin!

Good old trusty Timex watch with no paces, no distance measured, just the time, stopwatch and a lap button.

I had no idea what was planned for a workout and of course I was a bit nervous. Thankfully not only was my run club coach there when I arrived, but I just happened to run into my old college track coach. I spent time catching up with both coaches and they really helped me to relax not only about the workout but also about my future running and racing with my current knee problems.

After a quick, although boring workout due to the track being only 200m, it was time to start the workout.

4x800m at Tempo pace (7:00 pace)
3:35 - First one done! That wasn't so bad.
3:31 - Legs are feeling good, but that was not easy.
3:30 - Hold on, Just hold on!
3:25 - Too fast. But I am done!

Running with my old watch actually wasn't that bad. Relying on my body to know and hold the pace was a fun change. I have gotten used to the lap button on my garmin so I had a little trouble reverting back to my old watch but it still worked.

It felt so good to run on a track, instead of a treadmill or outside in the dark. And it was nice to have some company for the workout. Overall, I think this is a great start - still trying to figure out what to train for though.

And now time to stretch and ice! (My old college coach really re-enforced the fact that I need to do that tonight and he is usually right)

Do you run with a garmin all the time? Or do you have an older, not so technical watch?

Posted by
J

9 comments:

ok, sad but true story - i also had to bust out the old school watch tonight. i've only had my garmin for like 2 weeks, and i already forgot where the start/stop button on my normal watch are! pretty sad lol. great 800s workout! i agree that doing workouts with people makes them SO much better :)

I pretty much stopped running with my Garmin in favor of my phone / Cardiotrainer app. Now that there are so many great GPS apps, I think they're just as good as a Garmin (except for the battery life), and I run with my phone anyway, so it's one fewer device to worry about.

I have a Garmin, but guess what? It sits in my drawer. I much prefer the old-fashioned IM watch. I really do find I learn to pace better with that. And b/c I run w/ a group, if I want to know averages, etc. after the run, I can always get that from my Garmin wearing friends.

Ah yes-- the old school Timex watches! I have been known to wear one on my right wrist as a "backup" in case the Garmin malfunctions during a marathon. Garmins are great but finicky and the Timex ones are trusty. Glad you had such a nice track workout!